1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to a card reader for an electronic card, and more particularly to a card reader having movable card insertion mechanism and an electronic device having the movable card insertion structure.
2. Related Art
An electronic card such as a PCMIA card, PC Express card, flash memory card (CF, SD, Memory Stick, xD-Picture), or micro-drive, has a flat contour and has an electrical connector disposed at a side edge.
For connecting the electronic card to an electronic device, the electronic device is typically equipped with a card reader of the corresponding specifications. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,724,622 discloses a card reader. The card reader includes an electrical connection socket and a guiding element disposed on a circuit board of the electronic device and the card reader is located corresponding to an insertion hole in the case body of the electronic device. A guiding channel is formed between the guiding element and the circuit board, for ensuring the insertion hole is in communication with the electrical connection socket. When an electronic card is inserted through the insertion hole, the guiding channel guides the electrical connector of the electronic card to be inserted into the electrical connection socket, so as to establish communication between the electronic card and the electronic device.
The guiding channel is formed between the guiding element and the circuit board, for guiding the electronic card to be inserted into the electrical connection socket in a right way. In the card reader, only the electrical connector is actually finally electrically connected with the electronic card, but for forming the aforementioned guiding channel, the electrical connection socket is disposed at a distance from the insertion hole, so the card reader occupies a large area on the circuit board, thus influencing the arrangement of other electronic parts.
The US Patent Publication U.S. Pat. No. 7,448,890 discloses an electronic card and a card reader configuration, in which a width of the electrical connector of the electronic card is smaller than a width of the electronic card, but the guiding channel between the guiding element and the circuit board is still required to be larger in width than the electronic card. Although the width of the electrical connection socket of the card reader is reduced along with the width of the electrical connector, the card reader still occupies a large area on the circuit board.